Life in its Fleeting Glory

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Nature is many things, but it's never static. As with everything in every facet of life, dynamic change in the natural world is ubiquitous and inescapable. How would a contemporary visual artist depict this permanent state of flux? Isabella Kirkland does it with six inkjet prints subdivided into three groups of two images each. Taxa represents disparate species that are all affected by the change set in motion by human agency. Descendant addresses species that are endangered right now, with many already being written off as extinct, and Ascendant deals with non-native species that wind up flourishing in their new habitat -- often by displacing native ones. All told, Kirkland documents in excess of 400 species of flora and fauna dispersed throughout the world, some still to be found, some unfortunately not. Life Cycles: Isabella Kirkland's Taxa is on display Tuesday through Sunday in gallery 321 at the Saint Louis Art Museum in Forest Park (314-721-0072 or www.slam.org). Admission is free.
Tuesdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Starts: Jan. 24. Continues through June 15, 2014